Clearing the Course
Page 17
“Henry just filled me in on Charlie Rivers and the hidden fortune. I can’t believe I missed all the excitement.”
“Seriously? You didn’t have enough excitement to last you at least a few weeks?”
“Guess you’re right. Robby was a real hero. We wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for him.”
“I approve,” said Henry. “If you want to see this young man I’m okay with it.”
Maddy laughed. “Like I need your approval.”
Henry held his tongue. Emily changed the subject. “So any ideas about what to do with the money?”
Henry said, “I had a thought. It was a shame to see the old mill abandoned like that. Logging and running the mills is getting to be a lost art. What if we use the money to turn the mill into a museum? We could keep a piece of history alive.”
“With all the visitors that pass through here, I think it’d be a hit.”
“We could partner up with the guy at the corn maze and run a two for the price of one Vermont attraction ticket!”
Both Emily and Henry looked at her. “That’s our girl,” said Henry.
“I’m getting some almond milk to wash down these cookies,” said Emily. “Anyone want some?”
“No thanks,” said Henry.
“I still have some,” said Maddy. Chester tried to stick his nose into her cup.
After she poured the milk, Emily picked up the mail that Maddy had left on the table.
“Maddy, there’s a letter for you.”
“For me?” She tore it open.
“Who’s it from?” said Emily.
“You won’t believe it. Listen to this.
Dear Madelyn,
I’m hoping you are well. This will probably come as much as a surprise to you as it did to me. Last year a story broke in our local paper. A retired gynecologist was arrested for using his own sperm to impregnate patients, under the guise that he was using a sperm bank. Apparently, we have the same donor for a father. I had registered with Ancestors Are Us about a year ago, asking to flag any potential relatives. Guess what? You were a match. We’re half-sisters. I’d love to meet you. I’ve enclosed my cell number and email. Hope to hear from you,
Sincerely,
Jessica Pratt.
“I guess the excitement hasn’t ended,” said Emily.
“That’s the company we used to trace your DNA. They keep a database,” said Henry.
“Are you going to call her?” said Emily.
Maddy grabbed Chester and hugged him to her chest. “Hmm. Maybe I will.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diane Weiner is a veteran public school teacher and mother of four children. She has enjoyed reading for as long as she can remember. She has fond memories of reading Nancy Drew and Mary Higgins Clark on snowy weekend afternoons in upstate New York and yearned to write books that would bring that kind of enjoyment to her readers. Being an animal lover, she is a vegetarian and shares her home with two adorable cats. In her free time, she enjoys running, attending community theater productions, and spending time with her family (especially going to the mall with her teenage daughter and getting Dairy Queen afterwards).
Clearing the Course, is the third in Diane’s Sugarbury Falls series. The first book in this series, A Deadly Course, recently received an Eric Hoffer International Book Competition Finalist Award for general fiction. The second book in the series is Murder, of Course.
Diane also writes the Susan Wiles Schoolhouse mysteries.
Visit dianeweinerauthor.com to find out more about the author.
OTHER BOOKS BY DIANE WEINER
Murder is ElementaryA Deadly Course
Murder is SecondaryMurder, of Course
Murder in the Middle
Murder is Private
Murder is Developmental
Murder is Legal
Murder is Collegiate
Murder is Chartered
Murder is Homework
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For other Cozy Cat Press mysteries, visit our website at: www.cozycatpress.com